This invention relates to athlete's landing pits and more particularly to aboveground pits constructed of foam block cushioning units.
The most widely used aboveground landing pit today is that constructed in accordance with the teachings of my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,491 issued May 26, 1970. That patent described an improvement over a scrap foam landing pit accomplished by constructing a three-layer pit wherein each of the bottom two layers are constructed of horizontally spaced stiff foam blocks, the blocks of one layer running perpendicular to the blocks of the other layer, and a relatively soft continuous upper layer. Each of the blocks and continuous layer are cemented together to form a unitary structure which is then enclosed within a fitted casing of rectangular box form having a base section of waterproof vinyl coated fabric which is substantially air impervious and a top section of breather fabric, that is, fabric which is constructed, for example, as open weave nylon which is coated with vinyl and is air pervious. Since the present invention is an improvement over the landing pit defined and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,491, I hereby incorporate the descriptive material of that patent by reference and particularly those portions of that patent which describe the general use and nature of aboveground foam landing pits.
Certain difficulties are encountered with the use of my prior landing pit, the most significant of which is the tendency of the continuous soft upper foam layer to tear at locations where it bridges a gap between spaced horizontal blocks in the middle layer. Such tears eventually lead to weak spots and holes on the top cushion layer of the pit which are dangerous to jumpers.
An additional difficulty encountered with my prior pit is the fact that both high jump and pole-vaulting pits are typically constructed as three large cushioning members which are attached to one another by hooks or straps. These members tend to separate from one another as the pit is used for an extended period of time, creating a weak point between the sections. In addition, each of these large sections is relatively heavy and difficult to move and store, and since the sections are manufactured as a unit, that is, are held together by adhesive, they cannot be dismantled for easy transportation or storage.